Catching up with INNOPREFAT: An innovative Spanish SME takes its weight management solution to the world

In issue 84 of Research*eu, we interviewed Arturo Lizón, coordinator of the INNOPREFAT project on behalf of Spanish SME Monteloeder. Their MetabolAid product provides a nature-inspired solution to help deal with metabolic syndrome which affects around 25 % of the world’s population. When last we spoke, they were preparing to introduce MetabolAid to major markets across the world. We reconnected with Lizón to see how they’ve been progressing.

In a world reeling from a COVID-induced global economic slump, it’s certainly refreshing to hear that things have been going well for Monteloeder. “We’re becoming a worldwide success in the nutraceutical/health ingredients industry. With the digital services that we’ve built around the products, our clients are able to develop and market ‘personalised nutrition solutions’ based on MetabolAid,” begins Lizón.Indeed, all of the planned shipments of MetabolAid to key markets went ahead and have been very positively received. In the US, four of the top 10 supplement companies included MetabolAid in their portfolios.

“This was an amazing achievement for a European health ingredient in such a short time,” Lizón says. “In July 2020, MetabolAid even won one of the most prestigious awards in the US nutraceutical industry, being honoured as the Best Weight Management ingredient of the year in the US by Nutraingredients.com.”In Asia, MetabolAid has also found a warm welcome, being sold in Australia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam. The weight management system that comprises MetabolAid and its accompanying digital platform has also been nominated for one of the most prestigious awards of the industry in Asia.

In Europe, several large companies have also accepted MetabolAid and its digital solution into their portfolios. “It’s so well scientifically supported that even European pharma companies are including it as part of their portfolios and one big pharma company will launch a product including MetabolAid by the end of 2020,” comments Lizón.

The vast Chinese market is the next big target but this is more problematic. “The issue is the very high levels of protectionism that impedes entry into China,” Lizón explains. “This is really something that European policymakers should prioritise as easier access to China would really help many European companies such as ours.”The future looks very bright for Monteloeder. With six clinical trials and a large amount of data, AI techniques can be applied to develop more sophisticated preventive health models.

One of the projects that they’re currently running uses all of the clinical trials’ data regarding the evolution of blood pressure. The data includes information about habits, environment, personal characteristics and more and it was enough to develop a predictive model to manage blood pressure using AI techniques.

“Projects such as this are for sure the future of Health Management and Monteloeder is very much a pioneer in bringing this future into the present,” concludes Lizón.


last modification: 2020-09-30 17:15:01
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